WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THE CORES LEFT ON YOUR LAWN AFTER AERATION?
Over time, your lawn will likely become compacted due to foot traffic, the weight of lawn mowers, and the environmental conditions we face here in Missouri. Aeration is a lawn care service that breaks up compacted soil to make it easier for nutrients and resources like water and sunlight to reach the roots of your grass. After the service is completed, the cores of soil that were pulled out during this service will be left on your lawn. We get it, those cores can look a bit strange and out of place on your green lawn. When it comes to how you deal with those cores of soil on your lawn, you'll have 3 options. Because cores are packed with nutrients, the best option is to just leave the cores alone. The cores will eventually decompose, recycling the nutrients back into your soil. If you're not too excited about how they look, you can rake or mow the cores to speed up how quickly the cores decompose into your soil. This option allows your lawn to still absorb the nutrients. Lastly, if you absolutely hate the way the cores look, you can get rid of them. However, once the cores are removed, your lawn won't get any nutrients back, so we don't recommend this option.
Leave the cores of soil alone because they will return nutrients to your soil as they decompose.
Your lawn will need to be aerated every year to loosen compacted soil and to make it easier for nutrients and other resources to reach the roots of your grass. After your lawn has been aerated, there will be cores of soil left on your lawn. While they might not be the most aesthetically pleasing thing to look at, you should leave them alone to decompose. That's because these cores are filled with nutrients and as they decompose, they will return those nutrients back to your soil.
Soil cores typically take about 1-2 weeks to decompose.
You can rake or mow the cores to speed up the decomposition process.
If you don't want to wait around for the cores of soil to decompose naturally, but still want to reap the benefits they can provide, you can rake or mow the cores to speed up the decomposition process. By raking or mowing the cores of soil, you will be breaking down the cores into smaller pieces that will be able to decompose faster than if you were to leave them alone. By breaking down the cores, you speed up how quickly the soil decomposes and allow your lawn to still absorb all the nutrients inside. It's a win-win: the cores aren't as apparent, and your lawn still gets nourished.
You can get rid of the cores on your lawn, but your lawn won't benefit from the nutrients they contain.
Finally, there's one other option you have. If you really detest how the cores look on your turf, you can walk out onto your lawn and start picking up the plugs of soil. Unfortunately, your lawn would be deprived of all the vital nutrients they contain. If you do want your soil to benefit from the nutrients, we recommend not getting rid of the cores. Instead, let them decompose over time.
Give us a call to schedule our core aeration service today!
If you're ready to loosen the compacted soil on your property so that the roots of your grass can access the nutrients and resources that it needs to thrive, we are the company to turn to! At Sam's Turf Care, we offer our core aeration service in the fall and it's available to property owners in Independence, Gladstone, North Kansas City, MO, and other surrounding areas. Give us a call today at (816) 886-1121 to schedule our core aeration service!
